What is the best auto for the city (4WD?) (Chicago: transfer, buy)

[LovesCatsandDogs]

What is the best auto to drive in the city? I am guessing 4WD due to snow and potholes. We had a Jeep Cherokee when we lived in the city 10 years ago and it was great with snow, potholes and could drive with 2 wheels on the median to get into the turning lane when the regular lanes were blocking the turning lane. The only thing was parallel parking it because it was long. I think a small SUV with 4WD would be best. What do you all think?

[surlycue]

I moved up with a rear wheel drive older than dirt volvo sedan that I wouldn't even drive if there was snow/ice on the ground. I spun out more times than I can count with that beast. I bought an older subaru forrester (which has 4WD) last winter and it has handled amazingly. We haven't had a ton of snow since I bought it but I was able to drive out of a spot when there were about 6 inches on the ground with no problems, no spinning wheels or sputtering. It handles wonderfully on these roads. It is shorter in length than my volvo was but if you are looking for something more compact, all subarus are 4WD so you should test drive their little sedan or coupe.

[LovesCatsandDogs]

I was thinking Subaru because of the 4WD and because it is not too big and long. Thanks.

[pcc09]

I think a Subaru would be good for a snowy city but Subaru is not 4WD. There is a difference between All-Wheel Drive, which is what Subaru has, and 4WD.
All-wheel drive is active all of the time (it doesn't have to be activated by the driver) and means that the vehicle is front wheel drive but if it senses that one or both of the front wheels is losing traction, it can temporarily transfer power to the other wheels.
4WD means that the vehicle can be put into a mode, which has to be engaged by the driver, where all 4 wheels drive the vehicle, but most 4WD vehicles are actually driven by the rear wheels when 4WD is not engaged. 4WD vehicles (trucks/SUVs) are usually rear wheel drive when 4WD is not engaged, and rear wheel drive is actually worse in snowy conditions than front wheel drive.

[pcc09]

Oh, and I can attest to the power of AWD. A friend of mine has a cabin in the woods and he had a big New Years Eve party there for 2010. It snowed like crazy on New Years Eve and the cabin has a very long, steep driveway leading up to it. The only vehicles that could make it up the snowy driveway were the trucks with 4WD engaged and the Subarus. I was impressed.

[MannheimMadman]

I've got a Subaru Impreza WRX. I love how easy it is to get out of snowy spots. Never once had to shovel and use cones to dib.

[emathias]

Personally I think people who drive trucks (and yes, a Jeep Cherokee is a truck) in the city without a business need are a wee bit neurotic. I'd rather have something small, nimble and with great 0-30mph accelleration - those features are useful in all weather, on all kinds of road surfaces. A Jeep really has none of those attributes so is only useful on certain road types for part of the year.

I think Subaru is a good recommendation. They're tough, reliable, usually nimble with decent accelleration, easy to park, etc. If you have new Jeep Grand Cherokee money, you could also consider a new Audi A4, or a Certified Pre-Owned A6, which are classy, nimble, usually have AWD, and can handle the snow just fine.

[Drover]

I too once had a Subaru WRX, and I was able to pull into and out of snowed-in spaces with little or no drama -- on all-season tires no less -- that other cars wouldn't even touch. It's almost like you're guaranteed a parking space on a side street when there's substantial snow on the ground. I would add though that I had a Subaru with a 50/50 default torque split. Some of the entry-level models have FWD-biased 95/5 default torque split, and those struggle a bit more to get over and/or through big piles of snow. But they're still miles better than 2WD.

[Lookout Kid]

You don't need 4WD or AWD in Chicago. People that insist that you do are hysterical, in my opinion. I'm from Wisconsin, which is noticeably more harsh in the winter, and have never felt the need to own a 4WD or AWD vehicle. FWD will do just fine 99% of the time. Just keep a shovel in the trunk from December through March. I would not recommend a rear-wheel-drive vehicle in the snow, however.

The most practical car for the city is a compact or sub-compact with a hatchback. You need to squeeze into tight parallel parking situations, and a hatchback is great for those occasional times you need to move a TV or chair or buy a toilet. If you insist on AWD, the Honda CR-V shares a short Civic chasis, but fits a ton of stuff and has optional AWD (though they are just a little too "cute" for this guy).

[doublenickels]

Any four wheel drive Chevrolet truck will do, because of the horrendous condition of the streets, with all those potholes. You need a four wheel drive vehicle for Chicago winters.